What comes to mind when you hear "like a girl"? Do you imagine the scene from the Sandlot or a time in gym class when a boy was being made fun of?
You play like a girl. You fight like a girl. Like a girl. Like a girl. Like a girl.
How many times have we heard those three words follow some action in a sentence? And how many times have we heard it used in a derogatory way? Do I even need to answer that?
It's in movies and said on playgrounds and baseball fields in classrooms and relationships, but what is really being referenced when people use the term "like a girl"? Usually, it's to imply that someone is weak, incapable, annoying, a failure, unable; the list goes on.
We grow up in a society that expects us to not only be perfect and flaunt what makes us feminine, but we're torn down and ripped apart for being feminine in itself. Sorry, I was born with ovaries and a uterus?
It's practically a fact that when someone is bad at something "like a girl" is placed in after what they're doing. Oh, and if we do something that's not feminine, we're told that it's not lady like. So when I say a vulgar word or burp at dinner or listen to heavy-metal music, it's not lady-like, therefore I shouldn't be doing it. According to many males, females belong in the kitchen, as the popular "go make me a sandwich" statement would prove. They think that we can only cook and clean? Is that what the world thinks of women? That we're weak and powerless and the only thing we're good for is to put a piece of meat between two pieces of bread? Good one.
Like a girl should mean exactly what it is. I'm going to cook like a girl because I am a girl. I'm going to cry like a girl because I am a girl. I'm going to leg press 275 pounds like a girl because I am a girl. I am a girl, therefore when I speak or walk or draw, it's going to be like a girl.
Girls and guys are built differently. We have different hormones and bone structure and muscle tone for a reason; we're different. Like a girl means being a human being who is also a woman, because that's what we are. It shouldn't mean that you're weak and powerless.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think girls can do everything a guy can (with a few exceptions). And guys can do just about everything a woman can. And being able to do either shouldn't be a bad thing. That's why I find it repulsive when men are made fun of for being nurses or dancers or like to sew or go to plays. Or why little boys are made fun of for wearing pink.
We've been conditioned to make fun of guys for having a feminine side, when in reality, they have every right to and shouldn't be made fun of for it. And when I say being made fun of, I mean they're being mocked for being more like a woman than a man.
So next time you hear "like a girl" being used, embrace it. Because there's nothing wrong with being a woman.
Let's redefine what like a girl means. It means to be brave, strong, powerful, talented, compassionate, and fearless. It means being a woman. It means to be a human being.
